About the Project

West Malling High Street has been the beating heart of the town’s day to day activities for centuries. As a result, the buildings and their residents, past and present, provide a fascinating insight into the character and culture of the town.

My Street History aims to celebrate this area at a time when, like many high streets up and down the country, it is facing the continued threat of decline with physical shops struggling to compete with online stores and Covid increasing uncertainty.

The demise of some shops and businesses has already triggered a significant change to the way the High Street looks and feels and it is becoming increasingly important to explore ways of protecting its heritage and encouraging people to visit again, so that it isn’t irreversibly damaged and the sense of place it provides subsequently lost.

It is hoped that this project will reignite interest and pride for the High Street, as well as ensuring its rich history isn’t forgotten, putting it back at the heart of the community and giving people a reason to visit and explore it with renewed energy.

A Community Project

With the support of a grant from the Welcome Back Fund, alongside the determination and generosity of the founding team, the site has now been launched with an initial selection of properties being featured. This exciting starting point gives a clear indication as to what can be achieved when all of the properties have been added, which we hope to achieve over the next 12 months. The site will inevitably be a living project – constantly being updated with new discoveries and corrected information as new facts come to life, so it will continually develop and improve.

We are already busy thinking of what the next stages of the project may look like when all of the properties have been successfully added. We hope our vision of pop-up exhibitions, mini map tours, heritage weekends and education resources will become a reality in the near future so the High Street continues to be a thriving place to work, shop, live and visit.

It has always been the intention that this should be a community led project, researched and managed by the people who enjoy our High Street so much. It is a fascinating and rewarding project which we would love you to enjoy with us, so please get in touch if you would like to voluntarily help with any of the following:
• historical research
• content writing
• photography
• interviews
• managing content – scanning, archiving, etc
• manning exhibitions